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Despite the overhaul, the Celtics were still
far from contending for a championship. The team lacked size and
toughness. Bill Sharman’s arrival the following season helped, but he was a
backcourt compliment to Cousy and not the big man that Auerbach needed in
the middle. Bob Brannum played the role of enforcer, dishing out hard hits
whenever an opponent decided to play rough with Boston’s two young stars,
but even that wasn’t enough to put the Celtics over the top. Macauley
repeated as an All-NBA First Team selection, appeared in his second
consecutive All-Star Game, and established himself as one of the NBA’s first
true offensive threats. He also grew increasingly close to team owner
Brown, whom he viewed as something of a father figure. Macauley, in turn,
became like Brown’s surrogate son, a valuable player but also a person
considered part of the family. It was a relationship that would last until
Brown’s death on September 7th, 1964.
“Walter was Catholic and I was Catholic, so
we had that bond,” Macauley said, years later. “He was a very special man.
He kept the Celtics going financially, using his own money when times were
rough. He believed in his team and his league. He was a big part of
building the NBA into what it is today.”
The 1952-53 season saw Macauley erupt for a
career-best 46 points against the Minneapolis Lakers. The Celtics also
qualified for the playoffs, defeating bitter rival Syracuse to win a playoff
series for the first time in team history. NBA All-Star Game and All-NBA
First Team selections followed his stellar play, but critics derided him as
not being big enough to lead a team to a championship. It was a familiar
refrain that would continue over the next three seasons, as Boston could not
break through to the NBA Finals.
Following the 1955-56 season – Macauley’s
sixth with the Celtics, each of which included an
All-Star Game appearance – Brown and  Auerbach found themselves in position to
acquire the draft rights to college sensation Bill Russell. Russell was the defensive
stopper the Celtics had longed for, and the St. Louis Hawks were in a
position to draft the San Francisco’s powerful shot blocker. Hawks owner
Bob Kerner balked, until Macauley’s name was thrown in to sweeten the pot.
Macauley, for his part, welcomed the news of a pending trade; his son,
Patrick, had suffered brain damage following a bout with spinal meningitis,
and Macauley was already considering retirement in order to return with his
family to St. Louis. The trade brought a dynasty to Boston, as the
Russell-led Celtics went on to 11 championships in a 13-year period. It
also allowed Macauley to continue playing basketball. And two seasons
later, the Hawks were world champions. Macauley had a ring to go along with
an NIT championship in college, and a few short years later he would become,
at 32, the youngest player ever inducted into the Naismith Memorial
Basketball Hall of Fame.
While never a part of a
title team with the Celtics, Macauley remains one of Boston’s favorite
sons. His No. 22 was retired by the team, and his contributions to this
storied franchise will never be forgotten.
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